WORLD BRIEFING | ASIA; Laos: Malnourished Children

By REUTERS

Published: November 10, 2007

The World Food Program said that half the children in rural Laos, many of them from ethnic minorities, are chronically malnourished, and that state policies contribute to the problem. A study released by the United Nations food agency this week estimated that 255,000 children were chronically malnourished in the country of 5.6 million people, where only 27 percent live in urban areas. The survey found high rates of malnutrition among ethnic groups in upland areas in the north and in southern and central provinces. The Laotian economy expanded by 7.3 percent in 2006, but a majority of its people live on less than $2 a day.